MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT
YANNICK BAHATI (ENG) VS DRICUS DU PLESSIS (RSA)
FLYWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT
NKAZIMULO ZULU (RSA) VS SYLVESTER CHIPFUMBU (ZIM)
FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT
IGEU KABESA (DRC) VS PIERRE BOTHA (RSA)
GARETH BUIRSKI (RSA) VS CAL ELLENOR (ENG)
SINDILE MANENGELA (RSA) VS BAREND NIENABER (RSA)
PRELIM BOUTS
RICKY MISHOLAS (DRC) VS NICO YAMDJIE (CMR)
BUNMI OJEWOLE (NGR) VS RIZLEN ZOUAK (MAR)
THABANI MNDEBELA (RSA) VS WADE HENDERSON (RSA)
SIMON HARLE (RSA) VS RUBEN GROENEWALD (RSA)
TREZEGEUT KANYINDA (DRC) VS STEPHEN DE LA REY (RSA)
SIFISO NGCOBO (RSA) VS JP VAN ROOYEN (RSA)
STEVEN GONCALVES (RSA) VS CLAUDE NTUMBA (DRC)
Johannesburg, South Africa – Tomorrow’s monster night of three title fights completed its build-up today at the EFC 62 weigh-in. All athletes hit their mark.
Welterweight champion Dricus Du Plessis and middleweight champion Yannick Bahati headline the event in their champion vs champion bout. Du Plessis kept his distance at their face-off, no doubt a response to Bahati’s slap at their previous press conference.
“Dricus is dancing for me,” said a laughing Bahati, commenting on the welterweight champion’s footwork as they faced off. “He’s celebrating my victory.”
Cool as ever, Du Plessis avoided personal comments and stuck to his intent.
“The goal is to be the first EFC two division champion, and then to become the greatest fighter on the planet. It’s not about him,” said Du Plessis.
Nkazimulo Zulu defends his flyweight title against Zimbabwe’s Sylvester Chipfumbu, and although both have said relatively little in their build-up, their clash oozes violence. EFC commentator Cyres Fees wasn’t able to pull Zulu away from a stare-down that had both locked onto each other.
“I’m keeping my title,” stated Zulu matter-of-factly.
“I’m taking the belt back to Cape Town,” responded Chipfumbu, clearly itching to get the fight going.
In the featherweight division former champion Igeu Kabesa faced his opponent Pierre Botha, sharing a precise weight of 65.8kgs. Both are celebrated wrestlers, promising a technical contest tomorrow night.
“This is my time, this is my moment,” said Botha, who steps into a five round championship fight for the first time.
Also on the main card, the UK’s Cal Ellenor takes on South African stalwart Gareth Buirski, and Sindile Manengela and Barend Nienaber open the live broadcast. The mood between all was tense respect.
The official EFC 62 weigh-in results are as follows:
Fight 1: Featherweight
Claude Ntumba 66.00kg
Steven Goncalves 65.60kg
Fight 2: Welterweight
JP van Rooyen 77.00kg
Sifiso Ngcobo 77.00kg
Fight 3: Featherweight
Trezegeut Kanyinda 66.00kg
Stephen De La Rey 65.75kg
Fight 4: Catchweight
Thabani Mndebela 97.90kg
Simon Harle 99.15kg
Fight 5: Women’s Catchweight
Rizlen Zouak 62.90kg
Bunmi Ojewole 62.45kg
Fight 6: Heavyweight
Nico Yamdjie 117.70kg
Ricky Misholas 110.65kg
Fight 7: Featherweight
Barend Nienaber 66.00kg
Sindile Manengela 65.70kg
Fight 8: Catchweight
Callum Ellenor 64.95kg
Gareth Buirski 64.10kg
Fight 9: Featherweight Championship
Pierre Botha 65.80kg
Igeu Kabesa 65.85kg
Fight 10: Flyweight Championship
Sylvester Chipfumbu 57.00kg
Nkazimulo Zulu 56.30kg
Fight 11: Middleweight Championship
Dricus du Plessis 84.00kg
Yannick Bahati 83.75kg
EFC 62: Bahati vs Du Plessis, Zulu vs Chipfumbu, Kabesa vs P. Botha is presented by www.BetXchange.com and takes place on Saturday 19 August live from Carnival City, Johannesburg, RSA. Tickets are on sale at www.computicket.com/, and the 5 main card bouts will be broadcast live on kwesesports.com (Sub-Saharan Africa), Kwesé Free Sports 1 (Kenya & Rwanda) and live in South Africa on SABC 3 starting at 21:00 (CAT). Full broadcast details available on www.efcworldwide.com.